Hell's Reign (Patrick Stump/Fall Out Boy Fanfiction)

Chapter 27 - ...But Yesterday Was Heaven

            They walked all night, hands swinging between them, in dead silence. Both were too afraid to say a word, and neither was bold enough to break the silence. They walked down one empty street after another, past an old corner store where a zombie lurked within the aisles, and they cut across a deserted gas station, where Patrick stole a gas can and spent half an hour trying to siphon gas out of an abandoned car. He only ended up with half a can of gas, but he decided that it would have to do for now until they actually found a car they could steal.

By morning, there was a thin sheen of sweat on both of their foreheads. They had opted to stop holding hands as the temperature rose and their palms became sweaty. Still, they walked on, trudging along the sidewalk beneath the unbearable heat of the sun. It was nearly midday before Patrick spotted what he thought must be a mirage at this point. He gently knocked his hand against Tori's arm, making her lift her head, and pointed down the street, towards a used car dealership. The sign had fallen from the front of the lot, where it had crushed two cars, but the sight of it made Patrick grin from ear to ear.

"Let's go," he stated, his voice hoarse from misuse, and he grabbed Tori's hand again, tugging her along a little quickly. She was breathing heavily by the time they got to the lot, and they had to stop for a moment to look around. There were a few zombies milling about that had not yet noticed them, and probably a couple more inside the dealership building, but Patrick's eyes landed on a red pickup truck just a few feet away from them. It was definitely well used, a little dusty , and the red paint fading in places, but for some reason, Patrick was drawn to it. They could carry their things in the back of it, and the bench seat was perfect for the two of them. "Look," he muttered, pointing towards it as Tori followed his gaze. "What do you think?"

"Well," Tori mumbled, shrugging, "I was thinking of something a little bigger, honestly.

"It'll be hard enough to keep gas in that," Patrick sighed, swinging the half-filled gas can in his hand, "let alone something bigger."

"That's true," Tori sighed in return. "I'll fill gas if you want to find the keys."

"No," Patrick said, panicking at the thought of leaving her alone. "We'll put gas in it together, and then we'll get the keys together."

Tori glanced at him, her eyes flicking down to his hook suddenly and then back up at his face. He swallowed hard, glancing past her toward the ominously dark building. Without waiting for her response, he gently put an arm around her, propelling her toward the truck with the curved, blunt side of his hook. He made quick work of dumping the gas into the tank, cursing under his breath when he realized how full the tank already was. He managed to spill a bit of the gas on the pavement, but they still had a small amount left in the can that he threw into the bed of the truck. Tori tossed their bags in beside it, pulling out a small knife for herself and glancing again at Patrick's hook. Wordlessly, they both nodded, understanding that the sound of a gun would only attract more zombies to their location.

They made their way quickly into the building, silently thankful that the doors were unlocked. Alost immediately, a zombie that had been loitering in the middle of the showroom floor noticed them, a feral snarl gurgling in its throat. It leaned toward them and stumbled closer as Patrick straightened up and approached it, his hook gleaming at his side. Tori was behind him all the way, but the second they were close enough and the zombie growled louder at them, Patrick gently reached his hand back to hold her behind him, bringing his hook up in the same instant to the creature's neck. The zombie stilled as the metal passed clean through its jugular, and Patrick froze for a moment in awe. The thing couldn't bite him the way he had it hooked, but it reached forward feebly, it's bloody hands touching his jacket. One hand closed around the fabric, and yellow eyes turned up to meet his. It was a girl, once; A human girl. She couldn't have been much younger than Patrick, and he didn't know it, but she had no business being in the car dealership. She lived a block away, with her parents, and had been outside playing with her sister when the outbreak happened. The two of them had killed their parents, and sauntered off separately.